The Feminine Touch

The Feminine Touch – Winnipeg’s First All-Girl Rock Band
Formed in late 1965, The Feminine Touch was the first known all-female rock band to emerge from Winnipeg, Manitoba—and one of the earliest in Canada to play their own instruments in a fully self-contained setup. At a time when most women in pop were relegated to the microphone or expected to front male backing bands, The Feminine Touch defied the template.

The original lineup featured Sharon Temple (bass), Sharon McMullin (guitar), Penny Stark (drums), and Gail Bowen (organ). United by a shared love of rock and garage pop, the group began playing school dances, community events, and youth clubs across Manitoba. Their style was raw and energetic, placing them in the growing wave of teen-oriented garage bands, but their visibility as young women made them a local sensation.

They didn’t just stand out because of novelty—they were good. One of their most memorable gigs came on April 1, 1967, when they opened for The Monkees at the Winnipeg Arena. For a regional all-girl act—especially one without major label support—to land a slot on that bill was highly unusual and speaks to the group’s popularity and professionalism.

Though The Feminine Touch never released any commercial recordings during their active years, their musical legacy lived on. Following the band’s disbandment in the late 1960s, organist and vocalist Gail Bowen went on to join the Winnipeg-based psychedelic band Expedition to Earth, contributing vocals to their 1968 single “Expedition to Earth” / “Time Time Time”, issued on Franklin Records. The single has since become a prized piece among Canadian psych collectors and is considered one of the key artifacts from the Winnipeg underground scene.

Like many pioneering acts, The Feminine Touch faced the typical barriers confronting women in the 1960s music industry—skepticism from venues, lack of infrastructure for female-led bands, and limited recording opportunities. But their example was lasting. They proved that Canadian women could form a band, plug in, and hold their own in the burgeoning rock scene of the mid-1960s.

Though short-lived, The Feminine Touch’s legacy is secure as one of the first all-female Canadian bands to make a mark, and a vital precursor to those who followed.
-Robert Williston

Winnipeg’s first all-female rock band, the Feminine Touch — Sharon Hellum (née Temple) on bass, guitarist Sharon McMullin, Penny Stark on drums and Gail Bowen on organ — formed in late 1965, when 17-year-old Hellum answered an ad in the paper for female musicians to form an all-girl band. The quartet rehearsed for six months before making their debut.

“I had led a sheltered life until I joined the band,” says Hellum. “I had never travelled out of the city. I had to grow up fast.”

Besides playing the Hungry I club on Portage Avenue and various community clubs, the band was on the road a lot. For young women, that could sometimes be scary.

“We had to be on our guard all the time,” recalls Hellum. “We did get harassed a few times. That’s why we always stuck together. In hindsight, (booking agent) Frank Weiner should have sent a bodyguard along with us. We had a guy who came to see us every night in Hull, Que., and followed us to the next gigs for two weeks. That was unsettling.”

Young women playing in rock bands had another concern to deal with.

“There was a perception that because we played in a band, we were loose women,” she adds. “That was certainly not the case for us.”

Nonetheless, Hellum cherishes her memories of her rock-band experience.

“It was one of the best times in my life. I don’t think any of us grew up dreaming of being in a band, so when the opportunity came up, I just jumped at it. An all-girl band? Who would have thought of that back then?

“It was a novelty for sure, but most male musicians were really supportive and respected us because we were good players,” she said.

Bowen later joined mixed-gender group Expedition to Earth.

The Feminine Touch played a very memorable gig on April 1, 1967, when they were an opening act for teen sensation the Monkees. By then, Penny Stark had quit, so Patti Ireland was quickly drafted to fulfil a week’s bookings, including the Monkees show.

“I played on a higher drum riser,” Ireland recalls of the sold-out Winnipeg Arena concert, “and I couldn’t hear a thing. There was so much screaming and no monitors. I was so nervous I dropped a stick during a song and had to lean over and grab it fast before it fell off the riser. Afterwards I got to meet two of the Monkees. Back at school the next week, I was a celebrity.”
-John Einarson, as published in the Winnipeg Free Press Girl Rockers Were Groundbreaking November 21, 2015